Cactus League opens, hope springs eternal

Updated 4:44 am, Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- This is the time of year when last-place teams feel they're onto something, when "He's throwing off a mound" gets everyone in a tizzy, when fans gather in intimate ballparks to behold the genesis of a coming season.

There's nothing quite like the renewal of major-league baseball, and as the Giants and A's kick off the exhibition season Wednesday, here are a few things to anticipate:

-- There are aspects of Barry Bonds' hitting genius that cannot be taught, but here's one thing he can impart when he works with the Giants next month: Take charge of the batter's box.

Bonds seldom stepped out for any reason, making himself a constant, ominous presence that tilted the intimidation game in his favor.

Too many hitters treat an at-bat as some sort of fashion show, tediously stepping out after every pitch to fiddle with their wristbands (for the hundredth time), adjust their helmets, take a practice swing or just ponder their fate in life, when they should just get in there and hit.

Enough with the dawdling. Be a rock up there, not a hummingbird.

-- Pablo Sandoval may well listen to Bonds, but there's no hitting connection between the two - nor should there be.

In the grand tradition of Yogi Berra, Jesus Alou and Vlad Guerrero, Sandoval will swing at just about anything. There's nothing he loves more, and just when fans reach the point of exasperation, he'll pick a curveball off the dirt and hammer it, somehow, for a double up the alley.

He doesn't grasp patience or the measured approach, and his numbers (when he's healthy) speak loudly on his behalf.

-- Some will address the ethical ramifications of Bonds showing up in any big-league camp, but here's the comment that matters most, from ESPN's highly regarded Buster Olney: "The Hall of Fame already includes players who used performance-enhancing drugs, had police records, drank enough to be incapacitated in their jobs and openly cheated against rules on the books, and a former commissioner who worked diligently to keep the sport segregated. But not Barry Bonds."

-- As it clumsily tries to follow the NBA's globalization lead, MLB decides to open the season in distant locales, then sends the two teams back to spring training before resuming the regular season in the U.S. This is a complete joke, and the Giants get to watch the Dodgers and Diamondbacks awkwardly contest a two-game series - that's right, it counts - in Australia on March 22-23.

The Dodgers' Zack Greinke already has irritated Australian officials by telling ESPN, "I can't think of one reason to be excited for it." Clayton Kershaw might be kept home to avoid potentially excessive strain on his arm so early in the year. And as Arizona reliever (and ex-Athletic) Brad Ziegler, told reporters, "This is a team preparing to play in October. We can't go so hard early on that when the normal season starts, we don't have anything left in the tank. I remember a couple of guys on the A's, when they went to Japan (in 2012), they were awfully tired by the end of spring training."

Yes, the A's wound up winning the AL West that year. But why concoct such a sinister plot?

At least Australia makes some sense, as opposed to MLB trips to Japan or Taiwan, where baseball is so well entrenched. One look at Grant Balfour and you know there are many more hard-core competitors to be found Down Under.

-- Spring training will be a testing ground for the rules involving home-plate collisions. If you've grown weary of Buster Posey's injury being the landmark for change, call up YouTube for Game 4 of the 1980 NL Championship Series (Phillies vs. Astros) and Pete Rose's savage hit on Bruce Bochy. Another great example of what baseball is trying to eliminate.

-- Who replaces Derek Jeter on the Yankees next year? Troy Tulowitzki is the whole package, and the Rockies have fielded several trade offers for the man who wears No. 2 in Jeter's honor. Then there's the Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez, potentially a free agent this winter, calling Jeter "my idol and hero."

The Yanks would love Ramirez's bat and newfound leadership qualities, but he's due for a shift from shortstop to third base - perhaps as early as next year. That's how the Dodgers view Ramirez as they line up the terms of a contract extension.

-- Seattle will be a legitimate threat to the A's if Robinson Cano has a vintage year (.319, 200 hits, 29 homers, 109 RBIs in 2010) and fends off the critics.

Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long caused a big stir with his recent comments about Cano's lack of hustle, telling the New York Daily News, "If somebody told me I was a dog, I'd have to fix that. Jeter talked to him, we all talked to him. When you jog down the (first-base) line, even if it doesn't come into play 98 percent of the time, you leave yourself open to taking heat - and that's your fault."

Responded Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon to reporters: "I didn't know Kevin Long was the spokesman for the New York Yankees. I was a little pissed off, and I'm sure (Yankees manager) Joe Girardi feels the same way. I wonder if Kevin had any problems with Robbie when he wrote that book ("Cage Rat") proclaiming himself as the guru of hitting."

-- A treat for anyone visiting the Detroit Tigers' camp in Lakeland, Fla.: the sight of Omar Vizquel, now a coach, working with shortstop Jose Iglesias. This would be the equivalent of two master magicians practicing the fine art of illusion. So who has the better hands? "Still me," Vizquel told reporters with a laugh. "But I've already proved what I can do. Now it's his turn."